“Copper and gold combined are actually more toxic than when they appear on their own," Nies said.

“To solve this problem, the bacteria activate another enzyme - CopA.

“This enzyme transforms the copper and gold compounds into their originally difficult-to-absorb forms.”

This helps to form something of a protective layer, which means the copper can be pumped out efficiently.

Cool.

But what about the gold, man?

“Another consequence: the gold compounds that are difficult to absorb transform in the outer area of the cell into harmless gold nuggets only a few nanometres in size," Nies explains.

[Via Technical University of Munich]

So there’s a fun fact for you.

Unfortunately you’re also now aware that there’s a tiny organism out there with no brain that can literally excrete gold, while you, with all your human intelligence, can only produce poorly-lit selifes and underwhelming stir-fries.